For Massachusetts voters, Nov. 2 marks the deciding day in a close, contentious race between the incumbent Gov. Deval Patrick, a Democrat, and Republican challenger Charlie Baker.
While Bay Staters have not had to participate in the craziness of the midterm Senate elections as in other states, the Massachusetts gubernatorial election is not without heat. The candidates for the 2010 race for the governor's seat are the Democratic incumbent Deval Patrick, Republican Charles Baker, Independent Tim Cahill and Jill Stein from the Green-Rainbow Party.
The Daily examined on Tuesday the merits of the first two Massachusetts ballot initiatives, which deal with the taxation of alcohol and permits to build low to moderate−income housing, respectively. We now turn to Question 3, which concerns the state sales tax.
Around midnight a few nights ago, I decided I was bored of sitting in my dorm room and wanted to take a walk to the library roof. I invited my friends who were in my room to come along, but the response I received was, "Well, we'll come if you don't want to go by yourself and get raped and killed." Out of context, this might sound like a totally morbid comment, but my friends and I have often talked about rape in a joking manner and as a remote possibility that could never actually happen to us.
This is a response to the op−ed "On the presidency, politics and foreign policy" that appeared in the Daily on Oct. 26. That piece was at once an articulate yet irrelevant critique of the United States' modern political system. While the author, Stephanos Karavas, made some idealistically important arguments, he failed to take into account the true nature of politics in its current form.
October is a month dedicated to many things, including domestic abuse awareness. Tufts Social Justice Arts Initiative is a student−run group that seeks to use as many artistic mediums as possible to address issues of social justice. This comic is the second in a series we're running throughout October, starring "Alex," that addresses the issue of domestic abuse outside of its traditional definition of only occurring between two individuals in some sort of "romantic" relationship.
Tori Amos once sang, "But virgins always get backstage, no matter what they've got to say."
Representative Mike Pence (R-Ind.) gave a brilliant speech at Hillsdale College on Sept. 20 on the subject of the presidency of the United States. Its brilliance lies not in its creativity or innovation — he offered none — but rather his genius was that it was a humble reaffirmation of past ideas, a reaffirmation of the importance of the constitution.
A week from today, voters throughout Massachusetts will decide on three referendum ballot initiatives. The questions deal with taxing alcohol, permits to build low- to moderate-income housing and the state sales tax. Today, the Daily will examine Questions 1 and 2, and later this week we will cover the controversial Question 3.
On Nov. 2, residents of California will vote on whether to approve Proposition 19, which would legalize limited recreational use and growth of marijuana for anyone over 21. The law would also allow the government to license distributors to sell limited amounts of marijuana within state borders.
This is a response to the op−ed piece "Balancing the narratives: Israel and Palestine" featured in the Oct. 14 issue of the Daily by Sean Smith.
WikiLeaks' release last week of close to 400,000 documents concerning the Iraq war showed brazen disregard for human life yet provided a revealing glimpse into the operations of the Iraq War.
Let's take a break from national politics. I would like to delve into something a little closer to home: the so−called student activism at Tufts.
Less than a year ago, the people of Massachusetts heard President Barack Obama speaking in Boston about why Martha Coakley was the right choice for senator of Massachusetts. History seemed to replay itself this past weekend as Obama stood before the people of Boston on Saturday in an attempt to rally support from an unenthusiastic Democratic base for the re−election of Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, under pressure from Republicans who are speaking out and showing tight polling results to support it.
Many Tufts students living in off−campus housing this fall have noticed that a greater number of their parties have been broken up by the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) and/or the Somerville and Medford police. The feeling is more than just anecdotal, as figures provided by TUPD show that there has been an approximately 24 percent increase in the number of off−campus parties broken up by the police as compared to the same period last year. Additionally, the university has also increased, from $200 to $300, the fine levied on students who violate community standards with regard to overly raucous off−campus parties.
The Tufts Freethought Society (TFS) would like to formally thank The Primary Source for their blurb about the call for a Humanist chaplaincy in their Oct. 6 issue. As we write our op-eds, we consider whether the attacks against Humanism and the proposed chaplaincy are too akin to strawmen to warrant consideration, much less active rebutting, on our part. Do people actually harbor such simplistic and extreme beliefs about our proposal?
Office hours are a valuable resource for students and an integral component of their academic experience. It is also essential to the role of educator that faculty members play. Despite this, many students don't take full advantage of them, and many professors don't take the necessary steps to encourage students to drop by. However, just by following a few simple steps, more students can benefit from office hours — and professors may learn a thing or two as well.
One of the things I love most about Tufts is the excitement that so many people have about seeking the answers to difficult questions about politics, religion and life itself. Freethought Week, which brought us a colorful smorgasbord of brilliant thinkers who challenge accepted norms, was a fascinating chance to sit down and talk about the basics of the universe without the shouting or name-calling that often deters people from such conversations.
Op-ed submissions are an integral part of our connection with you, our readers. As such, we would like to clarify our guidelines for submitting op-eds and what you can expect from the process.
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